Cream Teas and Castles

This week I have had the pleasure of a visit from my parents and before anyone starts with the nit-picking over details, it’s actually my mother and stepfather. But this guy has been around since I was not quite ten years old and my biological father has not been around since I was nearly eight He’s been there and looked after me for as long as I can remember, so I think it’s fair and appropriate, to use the term “father”.

I try to ring my folks at least once a week, as they are so far away (250 miles) and I don’t get the time to visit them as often as I used to when my children were younger, when we used to go once every four or five weeks. I’m now really only able to make one or two trips a year at most due to work and other commitments I have. It’s always nice to catch up with mother and see how they’re both doing as dad gave us quite a scare the other year when his heart gave out while playing walking football. After some major surgery and therapy he’s on the mend, thank goodness, but it’s during these catch up sessions that I’m reminded how short life is and that you should always make time for that conversation; you never know how many you have left.

My folks arrived in Devon last Friday and went on the various trips and outings around the “Torbados” area and got to enjoy the English Rivera at its best while Mrs Bob and I were working. Then, on my day off, I picked them up and whisked them back to my home town of Totnes, where we walked all the way up the high street to the narrows, with a stop halfway for a beer and some food, then back down again stopping every few shops so that my mother could look in the window and comment on how unique the town was, for those of you who have never visited my home town it’s basically Devons biggest hippie commune, after walking all the way back through town to the car we decided to see Mrs Bob who’s had a really awful back pain for a couple of weeks, and was unable to join us for the day this gave my mother and Mrs Bob a chance to go through all the baby and other photos my mother had brought with her to give me as she was having a clear out due to selling the family home and relocating on the east coast. After a coffee and catch up, I took them out again, to look around the fabulous Berry Pomeroy castle which is about five minutes outside of the town and was built in the fifteenth century on land that the Pomeroy family owned. We had a good laugh took some photos and just basically had a good day out in the sunshine.

We returned home and had a coffee and got ready before taking them and Mrs Bob to another part of Devon that’s older than Berry Pomeroy castle, which is my place of work, a genuine thirteenth century pub in the middle of a small village near Totnes for a nice meal and some great conversation and a chance to fuss the gorgeous pub dog, before heading home to drop Mrs Bob off as her back was hurting her and taking my folks back to their hotel to pack before their coach left in the morning.

I got to talk about all sorts with my parents and I really made the most of our day together, I’m sure as familys we may all disagree and maybe even argue from time to time, but at this stage in life more than ever you have to look at things differently. Ask yourself is it really worth arguing over and holding a grudge, and do you want that to be the last thing you said to someone? I’m fortunate in the fact that I love and respect my parents for all the things they have done for me, even if i couldn’t see it at the time, they were always looking out for me. Especially my stepfather who has stood up and taken me on when my real father had abandoned me. So please if you do one thing after reading this call that loved one and make peace, tomorrow it could be too late.